28-year-old Eter Nikolaishvili is accused of grabbing Pei's right forearm and forcefully twisting it on December 13. According to the criminal complaint, Pei suffered bruises and bleeding after the attack.

The assault reportedly took place when Nikolaishvili attempted to take a telephone away from Pei because he had threatened to report her to police for doing "something bad."

I.M. Pei in front of the Louvre in Paris.

Nikolaishvili claims Pei was injured when he slipped and fell while going to the bathroom. She says she grabbed Pei's arm to keep him from falling and prevented further injury.

Pei was taken to the hospital at 4:00 am on the day of the incident. Nikolaishvili was arrested two weeks later, after a police investigation. She was arraigned last week on a charge of second-degree felony assault.

Ieoh Ming Pei's famed building designs include the Museum of Islamic Art in Doha, the glass and steel pyramid at the Musee du Louvre in Paris and the John F. Kennedy Library and Museum in Boston.

His work has been honored several prestigious awards, including the Pritzker Prize -- considered the Nobel Prize of architecture -- in 1983, the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, and the 2010 Royal Gold Medal from the Royal Institute of British Architects.